Does Stretching Decrease Muscle Strength?

[Soosan]

Cathe and/or educated crowd,

It seems that more and more studies are demonstrating that stretching before a strength workout decreases muscle strength. From your reading and experience, can you shed some light on this? Should I just do a whole body warm-up before a weight workout and skip the stretching? Should I also discontinue stretching a muscle group between sets during the workout?

 

[clareMc]

Susan:

I think it is OK to omit stretching after the warm up if doing weight training. I have read articles like you that made me concerned about losing strength in the msucle right before iItax it to the max!

But, I don't necessarily recommend omitting stretches between exercises, at the end of a set. For example, the legs get pretty tight very quickly in Leaner Legs and I do every stretch in between sets that Cathe includes. I think it allows me to continue by getting some of the tightness out of there.

Well, this is my personal experience anyway,

Clare

 

[Aquajock]

Overstretching both in terms of volume of stretching and range of motion can destablize the connective tissues over time, which can compromise your form; that's more of a joint stability issue than a muscle strength issue.

IMHO, a total body core temperature AND range of motion warm-up with gentle DYNAMIC stretching (not ballistic, sharp stretches and not holding stretches while not moving) would be a good compromise. IMHO as well, you should let your body dictate whether it needs to stretch a given muscle group between sets. If it feels good, do it; if you don't feel like doing it, don't.

A-Jock

 

[Bobbi]

I tend to skip the pre-workout stretches but always stretch during and after a workout once I am good and warm. I know there have been studies to show that stretching during weight training increases muscle strength and I'm all for that! I have noticed my flexibilty decreasing with the heavy (if I dare call what I do heavy while posting after A-Jock) strength training I have been doing and I am adding two days of yoga to my week to restore it.

How's your rotation going, Susan? Have you made a dent in the 27 pack yet?
Bobbi "Chick's rule!" http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/chicken.gif

 

[trevor]

Stretching between sets supposedly encourages muscle growth also. In addition I think after a workout is best to stretch. You are warmed up at that point and less likely to pull something. It helps force lactic acid out of the muscles also.
Trevor

 

[Bobbi]

And it's delicious!
Bobbi "Chick's rule!" http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/chicken.gif

 

[kathryn]

The latest issue of FitnessRX has an article about pre-workout stretching that states that stretching reduces muscle strength for quite a while after the stretch.

But I've also read that stretching BETWEEN weight sets can help increase strength on subsequent sets. This doesn't gibe with the above into. Unless somehow your body "reads" these two types of stretches as different?

I personally like to have a dynamic stretch, progressive ROM warm-up rather than a static stretch at the beginning of the workout (a nice, long progressive warm-up like in Cardio Kicks), with long statc stretches at the end of the workout.